CHEVROLET SILVERADO 3500 vs FORD F-350

The CHEVROLET SILVERADO 3500 (1994–2025, 31 model years) carries 1,395 NHTSA consumer complaints and 96 safety recalls, while the FORD F-350 (1989–2021, 31 model years) carries 6,475 complaints and 60 recalls. Severity indicators for the pair split as follows: 73 vs 331 crashes, 25 vs 215 fires, and 6 vs 16 reported fatalities.

Raw complaint counts favor whichever nameplate has fewer vehicles on the road, so the cleaner lens is components: which specific part families concentrate each model's filings? For the CHEVROLET SILVERADO 3500, the leading complaint category is service brakes (124 filings), followed by electrical system and engine. For the FORD F-350, it is steering (1198), ahead of suspension and engine. When the two vehicles cluster around the same component, the problem is likely a shared supplier or a shared federal standard under stress; when they diverge, each nameplate has its own defect signature independent of the other.

NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gives the CHEVROLET SILVERADO 3500 an average 0/5 crash-test rating versus 0/5 for the FORD F-350, aggregated across all model years with published scores. Use the side-by-side table below as your scorecard, but do not treat it as a verdict. Recall counts tell you how many defects the manufacturer has already been compelled to remedy; complaint counts tell you what owners are still flagging today; and safety ratings tell you how the vehicle performs in standardized barrier tests — three different lenses on the same underlying question. The "also compare" links at the bottom of this page let you triangulate against neighboring nameplates in each model's competitive set.